California: Dan Lungren Raises Half-Million in First Quarter

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) will report raising a stunning $513,000 in the first quarter, according to numbers obtained by Roll Call.

The three-month haul is about three times what he raised in the prior quarter and marks the first time in nearly three years that he will have posted a stronger quarter than physician Ami Bera (D), a prodigious fundraiser whom Lungren defeated by 7 points in 2010 despite being outspent by $900,000.

Bera announced on Wednesday raising $366,000 from January to March, also a strong quarterly take. Bera still had a cash-on-hand lead at the end of March with more than $1.1 million, but his cash advantage was cut in half. Lungren held on to much of his first-quarter haul, leaving him with $898,000.

Thanks to redistricting, Lungren is one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country. His redrawn Sacramento-area 7th district went from being one President Barack Obama won by fewer than 600 votes in 2008 to one Obama would have carried by 6 points. Roll Call rates it a Tossup.

This is one of a long list of districts in California made more competitive by the state’s new independent redistricting process. Democrats are hoping to net a half-dozen seats in the state, but it’s possible the party comes away with only a couple.